Kurma Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 14

Sūrya’s Celestial Car: Ādityas, Ṛṣis, Gandharvas, Apsarases, Nāgas, and the Two-Month Cosmic Cycle

Devanagari script

क्रतुस्थलाप्सरोवर्या तथान्या पुञ्जिकस्थला / मेनका सहजन्या च प्रम्लोचा च द्विजोत्तमाः

Transliteration

kratusthalāpsarovaryā tathānyā puñjikasthalā / menakā sahajanyā ca pramlocā ca dvijottamāḥ

Translation

二生中最胜者啊，先提及名为克罗图斯塔拉（Kratusthalā）的上首天女（Apsarā），又有另一位——蓬吉迦斯塔拉（Puñjikasthalā）；同样还有美那迦（Menakā）、娑诃阇尼耶（Sahajanyā）与普罗摩罗叉（Pramlocā）。

Word by Word

• क्रतुस्थला: Kratusthalā (name)
• क्रतुस्थला: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रतु (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (name)

• अप्सरोवर्या: best of the apsarases
• अप्सरोवर्या: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अप्सरस् (प्रातिपदिक) + वर्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय: अप्सरासु वर्या (best among apsarases)

• तथा: also
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (adverb)

• अन्या: another (female)
• अन्या: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (implicit ‘अप्सरा’)

• पुञ्जिकस्थला: Puñjikasthalā (name)
• पुञ्जिकस्थला: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुञ्जिक (प्रातिपदिक) + स्थल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; तत्पुरुष (name)

• मेनका: Menakā (name)
• मेनका: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेनका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सहजन्या: Sahajanyā (name)
• सहजन्या: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहजन्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अप्सरा-नाम

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• प्रम्लोचा: Pramlocā (name)
• प्रम्लोचा: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रम्लोचा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; अप्सरा-नाम

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्यय (conjunction)

• द्विजोत्तमाः: O best of the twice-born
• द्विजोत्तमाः: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष; संबोधनार्थे (vocative sense): ‘O best of twice-born’

Speaker

Sūta (traditional Purāṇic narrator) addressing the assembled sages (dvijottamāḥ)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shringara

Characters & Entities

• Kratusthalā
• Puñjikasthalā
• Menakā
• Sahajanyā
• Pramlocā
• Apsarases

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

How does this verse explain the nature of the Supreme Self (Atman)?

This verse does not directly teach Ātman-doctrine; it functions as a Purāṇic catalogue of divine beings (apsarases). In the Kurma Purana’s broader framework, such catalogues situate spiritual teaching within a mapped cosmos governed by dharma and īśvara.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

No specific yoga practice is stated in this verse. Indirectly, it reflects the Purāṇic worldview in which disciplined tapas and yoga can affect even celestial realms—an idea developed more explicitly in the Kurma Purana’s later yoga and Pāśupata-oriented passages.

How does this verse depict the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu?

It does not explicitly discuss Śiva–Viṣṇu unity. The verse is descriptive (naming apsarases), while the Kurma Purana’s synthesis of Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava theology is articulated elsewhere, especially in its doctrinal sections.